At 7 a.m. I was on deck to lower the jib before the wind came up. I need not have bothered. The jib did not come down and the wind has not come up.
I unfurled the jib, let go the halyard clutch and went forward to tug down on the luff. It came 6” and jammed. I could neither go up or down. After a few expletives, I stepped onto the dock to have a better angle and looked up. I can’t see the problem. I surmise that the top swivel on the furling gear is somehow jammed on the foil. Presumably we can lower the mast with the jib in place and sort it out at deck level.
I retired to the Great Cabin and finished my air temperature instant coffee—I haven’t been bothering to heat the water these last few mornings—and my breakfast, which was a combination of oatmeal and a local meusli. I did not find oatmeal at the supermarket. I prefer plain uncooked oatmeal, but the combination is satisfactory.
Returning to the deck, detaching the boom vang, lowering the boom, and removing the mainsail went better than I expected. I was able to flake the sail into a compact enough bundle that I could slide it through the companionway without having to remove the full battens. Then forward, then aft onto the starboard pipe berth where it fits nicely on top of the Avon dinghy. The boom and boom vang are also stowed there and the carbon fiber bow sprit is on the starboard side of the v-berth.
While I was working, Steve, a South African who works with the boat yard as a rigger, came by and we have tentatively scheduled to lower the mast on Tuesday.
Also while I was working a man came off one of the nearby catamarans, stopped and asked incredulously, “You are living on that?”
